Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker, a Force-sensitive human male, was a Jedi Knightwho fought for the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War. The son of Jedi General Anakin Skywalker and Senator Padmé Amidala, Skywalker was born in the year 19 BBY—two days after the end of the Clone Wars and the birth of the Galactic Empire—alongside his twin sister, Leia Amidala Skywalker. With the galaxy under the dominion of the Sith, the Skywalker siblings were separated at birth. Luke was sent to live with his relatives on the Outer Rim planet Tatooine while Leia was adopted into House Organa and raised as a princess of Alderaan. For two decadesSkywalker had no knowledge of his Jedi heritage or his connection to the Force until a fateful encounter with Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobiin 0 BBY. Through Kenobi, Skywalker learned that his father was once a Jedi Knight of the Old Republic and ultimately sought to follow in Anakin's example by becoming a Jedi as well. With the aid of the smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca, Skywalker and Kenobi embarked on a journey to Alderaan only to be captured and taken aboard the Death Star, the Empire's moon-sized battle station that possessed the capacity to destroy entire planets. Upon learning that Princess Leia Organa was also a prisoner aboard the station, Skywalker and his allies took the opportunity to rescue the Alderaanian royal but at the cost of his mentor Kenobi, who became one with the Force as a result of a final duel with his one-timeapprentice, the fallen Jedi-turned-Sith Lord Darth Vader. Committing himself to the cause of the Rebellion, Skywalker participated in the Battle of Yavin where he succeeded in destroying the Death Star. As his powers continued to grow, Skywalker journeyed to Dagobahwhere he hoped to complete his training under Yoda, the last Grand Master of the Jedi Order. However, Vader exploited Skywalker's emotional attachment to his friends, using them as bait to lure the young Jedi hopeful out of hiding. The result was a duel on Cloud City, Bespin where Skywalker was defeated and maimed by the Sith Lord. Vader, who was keenly aware of the boy's immense potential in the Force, revealed that he was, in fact, Anakin Skywalker. He beseeched Skywalker to join him, insisting that they could rule the galaxy together as father and son, but Skywalker refused and was able to regroup with the Rebels. Skywalker eventually came to terms with the revelation that Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader were one and the same. However, in spite of Vader's immersion in the dark side, Skywalker perceived the goodness that endured within his father and was convinced that he could be restored to the light side of the Force. In 4 ABY he confronted his father for the last time but was then brought before Vader's Sith Master, Darth Sidious, the reigning Dark Lord of the Sithand Galactic Emperor. The Emperor goaded Skywalker by tempting him with the dark side, resulting in a final duel in which Skywalker prevailed against Vader yet remained steadfast in his commitment to the Jedi way by refusing to strike down his own father. Angered by this turn of events, the Emperor tortured the self-proclaimed Jedi Knight with a torrent of Force lightning while Vader was forced to watch his son writhe in agony. To the Emperor's surprise, however, Vader did indeed turn as his son had hoped, ending Sidious' life but at the cost of his own. The deaths of the last two Sith Lords brought the Force back into balance, thereby fulfilling the ancient Jedi prophecy that foretold the destruction of the Sith. By sacrificing his life, Luke's father found redemption in his final moments of life and therefore died in the light as Anakin Skywalker—the Chosen One of the Force. By the end of the Galactic Civil War in 5 ABY, Skywalker stood as the last of the Jedi. Yoda's dying wish was that Skywalker would pass on his lessons to a new generation of Jedi Knights; therefore, Skywalker ultimately founded a training temple where he served as the Jedi Master of a dozen students. Among his acolytes was the young but powerful Ben Solo, his sister's son from her marriage to Han Solo. For a time Skywalker believed that the Jedi Order would, in fact, rise again with the younger Solo as his eventual successor. It was Skywalker's hope that he would not die as the last Jedi, but then he gradually came to sense the rising darkness within Solo and grew fearful for the people he loved. For a brief moment, Skywalker considered ending Solo's life before his dark future could come to pass, causing Solo to lash out by destroying the templeand slaughtering the other apprentices. Losing his nephew to the dark side filled Skywalker with shame and remorse; disillusioned by the destruction of his life's work, he elected to live out his remaining years in exile on Ahch-To, the lost homeworld of the Jedi Order, as a hermit. Though he fully intended to remain outside of the galactic conflict between the First Order and the Resistance, Skywalker ultimately embraced his heritage once more, sacrificing his life in 34 ABY in order to save his sister's movement. Skywalker had passed away into the Force, but his legend would spread across the galaxy, bringing hope to the enemies of the First Order. In addition, the Jedi Order did not die with him as Rey, a scavenger from Jakku, inherited the mantle of the Jedi upon Skywalker's death. Category:Star wars characters Category:Star Wars Episode VII the Force Awakens